French Blue, Mauve, Citrus Yellow...... and is Grey the New Beige?

Our Marrs Shop team have been having a ball over the past few weeks sipping champagne and checking out the latest for Summer 11/12 with some of our favourite brands Sheridan, Maurice Kain, Warwick Fabrics and Rapee.
This season we are liking everything White, French Blue, Mauve, Citrus Yellow...and i put to you - do you think that grey could become new beige?? One thing that is for certain is that texture is getting deeper and prints are back in a big way, think chintz and floral and you cant go too far wrong.
This week all of the new ranges from Sheridan, Logan and Mason and Rapee are available on Marrs Shop www.marrsshop.com.au . We have decided to take the pain out of shopping for you, and have aimed to be the one place that you can go to online and select from the entire range of these favourite brands. Saving you dollars shopping on line, but also saving you precious time walking from shop to shop as many retailers simply cant carry the entire range in every size available.
In speaking to our clients over the past months we have realised that many want a great look for their room but are not to sure how to put it all together, or get scared to mix various textures together. Does this sound like you? If so, we have been working hard to bring to our site Virtual Styling Advice. By simply emailing us and sending in photos of your room, the team at Marrs shop will offer you advice and selections to help make your home beautiful, using products from our huge range online.
Here are some images for you of some of our favourite looks for this spring/summer season! Hope you are enjoying the sunny days at the moment.

Sally-Anne x

Put To The Test

Challenges make us concentrate, and help us to grow and develop, both for people individually and for a business. Recently the team at Marrs got an invitation to be the Window and Soft Furnishing supplier to the new Channel 9 series Top Design, hosted by Jaimie Durie. It was an offer that we couldn't refuse and an opportunity to challenge our skills.
It was an amazing experience to be part of a reality TV show with a fabulous bunch of talented design contestants that pushed us to our limits every episode. The first learning curve for us was that everything is reality. The time pressures are real, and the obstacles and challenges encountered are real. As a result the drama, pressure and emotion experienced by everyone is all very real.
Each episode Marrs would consult to the contestants on their window and soft furnishing needs. This was the easy part. The difficult part was manufacturing their wonderful creations in one to two days. Installation was also very challenging often having to think on our feet to overcome situations to the ever changing scope of works.
Being one of the only suppliers on the show supplying custom made product (which we did through our custom made division www.marrscurtains.com.au) we were vital to the show, and as such we developed close relationships with all of the contestants, and are very happy to call all of them and the production crew our friends.
The contestants loved using our ranges available from our online shop www.marrsshop.com.au particularly the throws, cushions, and quilt covers. They were amazed that we could offer them the full selection on the latest seasons ranges from all top brand suppliers. We thank hugely Rapee and Sheridan for there support of Marrs on Top Design.
Over the past month we have been completing the fit out of the house for Beauty and the Geek. The house is nothing short of amazing! So keep an eye out when that hits our screens.
For more tips and tricks you may also like to take a look at the Lifestyle Channel website where Marrs is regularly nvited to provide expert feature articles.

Insulate and Decorate!

With reports of fantastic early snow, a last minute decision soon followed to pack the car and  head down to the snow for opening weekend. This was the final indicator i needed to realise that this year it seems we are having a very real winter!
Every day we are hearing of the struggle with electricity and energy bills rising. So i thought the best thing i can share with you at the moment are some handy hints using furnishings to make your home warm and cosy!

Full blockout curtains with a pelmet still remain to be the best window covering you can have in your home for insulation. Fabric covered pelmets as pictured below are timeless and classic. Some newer homes tend to often build a recess into the ceiling that acts as a pelmet, giving the curtains a more modern and sleek look. Either way works great, as the pelmet seals the air flow, and the blockout lining offers the best protection to trap the heat in your home in winter. The insulation benefits can be further improved adding a layer of bumph interlining in between the fabric and blockout lining. Puddling the curtains on the floor also adds extra insulation benefit, although having your curtains hang just 1cm off the floor as most people prefer will still have almost the same result.
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To stop any pesky drafts don't forget about the good old door sausage. Whilst many are made of sand or rice. Both of these fillers can have problems absorbing moisture or in the case of rice attracting mice! So another handy filler is polyethylene pellets. If you want to try and make these at home, i suggest making a calico sausage for the filler, and then making an outer sausage with any great fabric of your choice.  Finish the outer layer with velcro at one end, this way the outer layer is removable and can be washed.

Some of my favourite products at the moment to keep you warm in bed this winter include Logan and Mason's Double Wool Under blanket and Sheridan's The Deluxe Dream® '2 in 1' quilt, which includes two quilts. In winter you clip both quilts together for extra warmth, however in summer you can detach one layer for a lighter cover. It really is a fantastic invention.

The St Albans Mohair throw rug is the perfect accompaniment for when you are spending time on the couch. So light in weight, yet so warm. Mohair offers great texture and makes any lounge room look winter ready.

Dont forget a floor rug if you have timber floors or tiles, and my absolute favourite to warm up..... a hot water bottle!
Hope this helps give you some thought starters on ways to keep the cold out this winter. Furnishings such as curtains, rugs, throw rugs etc are so fantastic because not only are they functionally brilliant but they are so important to decorating your home as well.



Sally-Anne x


www.marrscurtains.com.au
www.marrsshop.com.au

Cushions...the handbag and shoes of a home!

Do you member the movie "Along came Polly"? In the movie Rueben made a funny point of how much time in our life we lose for each cushion we have to take on and off the bed each day. Well I'm sorry to say, but at the moment you had better allow some time in your day for cushions.......... because you cant have too many!
Having recently received the latest Rapee cushions Autumn/Winter catalogue, i realised the more the better. If your thinking two...buy four! The trend at the moment is soft and cosy.....which means more cushions on the couch. Its amazing how fantastic a bed or couch can look with a generous quantity and range of cushions. Be daring combining different textures, colours and patterns.
Cushions are like shoes and handbags for the home. They are the perfect accessory. Whilst a girl cant have too many shoes and handbags, a home cant have too many cushions. Changing your cushions every 3 or 6 months can completely transform the look and feel of your room for little expense.

My favourite co-ordinating cushion at the moment is Morocco Can Can. It has amazing texture, and is available in a wide range of colours. This cushion has a wonderful ability to transform an old couch, or liven up a bedroom. This cushion is in stock now at http://www.marrsshop.com.au/ for $53.00.

The colours chartreuse and violet look gorgeous together in this seasons range. I love this picture below.

Don't forget to complete the look of any combination of cushions, a throw rug carefully placed on the couch or folded at the foot of the bed, will tie all the textures and colours of the cushions together. Then all that's missing is 30 spare minutes, a cup of coffee, a good book and feet up on the ottoman!
Happy cushion shopping!
Sally-Anne x

display home vs living in your home

At Marrs, http://www.marrscurtains.com.au/ we see hundreds of clients every year. Each and every client faces the challenge of wanting to make their home look like the front cover of a magazine, whilst still having furnishings that fit in with their lifestyle. In making recommendations to clients, we always propose a few solutions and work with the client to satisfy their goals. In decorating there are endless options to make a window look fantastic or to make a space work, the challenge is to create something that echoes the clients "music".
Your home should be a place for you and your family. Representing your personality and values. It should be an extension of the person that you are everyday. Decorating a home to look exactly like the latest display home, may not create the atmosphere that you want for your family and friends. What colours do you love? Do you want a calm household? A busy household? Do you like to change themes regularly?
Next time you look to decorate a space, think about the personality you want the room to have, and what emotion you want to achieve out of the room when you spend time in it.
So yes, definitely gain ideas from display homes, and keep up with modern trends but don't be scared to put your personal spin on a room. The houses i most love visiting are not always the most up to date in style, but have been created with love - you can tell the difference!